The horror of the underworld (and this world)

Published 4:00 am, Friday, December 29, 2006

Photo: Picturehouse

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Ivana Baquero in Picturehouse's Pan's Labyrinth - 2006

Ivana Baquero in Picturehouse's Pan's Labyrinth - 2006

Photo: Picturehouse

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This promotional photo released by Picturehouse shows actors Ivana Baquero, left, and Doug Jones in a scene from the film, "Pan's Labyrinth." (AP Photo/Picturehouse, Teresa Isasi) , UNDATED PHOTO RELEASED BY PICTUREHOUSE. less

This promotional photo released by Picturehouse shows actors Ivana Baquero, left, and Doug Jones in a scene from the film, "Pan's Labyrinth." (AP Photo/Picturehouse, Teresa Isasi) , UNDATED PHOTO RELEASED BY ... more

After "Pan's Labyrinth," Guillermo del Toro will never again be dismissed as a director of horror movies. The artistry evident even in "Mimic" and "Hellboy" is confirmed in spades in his new work, a lock for an Oscar nomination as best foreign language film. Visually stunning, it meshes haunting images with a complex multilevel story about the enchantment of youth -- a time when fairy tales take on a reality that can shield children from painful truths -- and the unadulterated evil of fascism.

Whether intentional or not, "Labyrinth" bears a resemblance to Picasso's "Guernica." Del Toro uses a similar palette -- the color is so faded that some scenes appear to be black and white with shades of gray -- and his eerie mythical characters sport multiple eyes in unusual locations as on the famous mural. Most significantly, the strokes of two true masters are used to conjure up a horrific representation of the brutality, suffering and death during Spain's long struggle for freedom.

"Pan's Labyrinth" begins in 1944 after the country's civil war has ended with the defeat of the Republican forces aiming to preserve democracy. A delicate 12-year-old, Ofelia (the intense young Spanish actress Ivana Baquero), distracts herself during a long car ride by reading about an ill-fated princess. Ofelia is on her way to an uncertain future. Her father was killed in the war, and her mother has hastily married Captain Vidal (Sergi López) and is heavily pregnant with his child.

When mother and daughter arrive in the northern countryside, where Vidal heads the fascist militia fighting off guerrilla attacks, Ofelia immediately spots a labyrinth. A kindly housekeeper (Maribel Verdú) tells her to keep away from it, but the warning only ignites her interest.

Del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro's imaginations run wild creating a muddy netherworld overgrown with moss for Ofelia to enter. These scenes are breathtaking in their originality and spookiness. The creatures are menacing along with welcoming, led by a 7-foot-tall faun who promises the youngster royal status if she carries out three tasks. Handing her an instruction book that turns out to be blank, the pages soon begin dripping blood. A children's film this is not.

Ofelia senses her stepfather's cruelty before being confronted with evidence of it and retreats into her fairy tale world. Although her mother resents it, fearing she is losing the girl, she still entreats the girl to tell a magical story to her unborn baby brother. (In full macho mode, Captain Vidal insists it's a boy.) There's an entrancing moment of Ofelia speaking directly into her mommy's belly as the camera hones in on a fetus in a womb.

Baquero exquisitely captures Ofelia's confusion over what is real and what isn't, at once seeming wise beyond her years and incredibly childlike. Her dark eyes reflect the pain caused by a war in which she's lost a loving father only to have him replaced by a brute. López (known in this country for "Dirty Pretty Things" although he's worked extensively in Spain and France) chillingly shows the banality of evil. When Vidal shoots a couple of innocent peasants, believing them to be guerrillas, he blames his underlings for involving him. His vanity is such that he can't resist smirking into mirrors. He's also got a thing about needing to know the exact time. He cradles a chain watch like a baby.

As the seemingly obedient maid who secretly is with the resistance, Verdú has the trickiest role. She displays almost no emotion, as a spy in the enemy's household would train herself to do. Verdú projects such utter blandness that it's hard to recognize her as the sexpot in "Y Tu Mamá También" who seduces two teenage boys.

The scary real world in which all the females must tiptoe around out of fear of upsetting Vidal is juxtaposed with an almost-as-scary fantasy one. The latter becomes as believable to us as it is to Ofelia. Del Toro's single misstep is to point out the girl's hallucinations by having her stepfather walk in while she's talking to her faun. You see through the captain's eyes that there is no one else there.

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Although "Pan's Labyrinth" relies heavily on special effects, including the computer-generated kind, you're never aware of them. Del Toro, who wrote the story, has created a special universe. The spell it casts lingers long after the final reel.

-- Advisory: Disturbing images and violence.

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